1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of food bars for use in restaurants and cafeterias and particularly to a food bar having a unique modular support system for food containers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Food bars are commonly used in restaurants such as for self-service of salad, soup, and dessert, and in cafeterias and the like. The self-service feature permits large amounts of food to be prepared and kept hot or cold in a ready state for several hours. The food bars can be portable or stationary and often include a means such as hot water for heating or ice for cooling food.
A support system is necessary for holding the pans and bowls containing food to be served. This is commonly in the form of cast or molded openings sized to support the vessel by an outer rim or flange. In most instances the cast or molded openings have a standard size. Therefore, the size of the pan or bowl is set. This is somewhat limiting since some foods are desirably served in larger or smaller than standard stock sizes. Thus, it is desirable to have a support system which can support vessels of differing size and at an economically attractive cost.
Food bars are also commonly provided with a "sneeze guard" which is a panel of glass or clear plastic material disposed above the food at a distance which is high enough to permit access to the food by the hands of a person but low enough to form a barrier between a person's head and hands. The clarity of the glass or plastic gives a view of the food while the barrier provided thereby prevents contamination by coughing or sneezing by a person.
In order to comply with health regulations, the entire food bar and its constituent parts must be thoroughly cleaned on a regular basis to prevent the growth of pathogenic organisms. Thus, it is desirable that a food bar be capable of easy disassembly and provide ready access to all parts. Easy drainage of liquids and wipe up of spills is also desirable.
Moreover, the parts are ideally made from a sturdy material which is easy to clean and is at the same time attractive.
It is an object of the invention to provide a food bar which is made of sturdy materials which are easy to clean.
It is another object of the invention to provide a food bar having a support system for food vessels which is versatile so that different sizes of food vessels or containers, including standard sizes, can be supported and at the same time, the support system is economically attractive.
It is another object of the invention to provide a support system incorporating a plurality of easily assembled and disassembled interlocking divider bars to enable numerous novel combinations and variations to hold food containers.
It is another object of the invention to provide panel inserts containing openings for holding various sized bowls by an outer rim, which panel inserts are sized to fit into compartments defined by the divider bars.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a food bar which incorporates a "sneeze guard" which is effective in blocking contamination and which is at the same time easily assembled and disassembled for convenient and effective cleaning.